To the Future!
by celestinanamiku
Summary: After a screw up with Chaos Control; Sonic, Tails and Knuckles land hundreds of years into the future. When they see their own graves being planted there for decades, they have a hard time adjusting what timeline they were in. Luckily, they meet a certain black hedgehog who clears everything up... and their reactions were priceless. [Shadikal with Team Sonic shenanigans!]


"Oof!"

Sonic landed face first into the dirt. He groaned and started to get up halfway, trying to pull his head out until he heard the sounds of Tails and Knuckles's yells as they toppled onto him.

"Sonic!" Tails shouted and rolled off of him. He rubbed his head and shot the hedgehog a fowl disapproving look. "That was dangerous. How many times do I have to tell you to listen to me first before you do anything?!"

"Sorry bud..." Sonic grumbled from beneath the ground.

"And why did you even have to drag me into it?" Knuckles snapped at Sonic as well and rubbed off the throbbing from his own head. "The Master Emerald isn't going to protect itself, you know!" The angry echidna pulled on the blue hedgehog's ear. "Idiot! At least learn how to use Chaos Control properly or don't do it all, dammit!"

"I know, I know!" Sonic stood up and winced at the pain, "It's totally my fault, so I'll take the blame." He brought out the green chaos emerald which was still glowing. "I dunno what happened... I thought we'd teleport to Eggman's base or something."

"Well congratulations, you took us to the middle of some old park!" Knuckles yelled.

"You really need to work on using the technique, Sonic..." Tails said quietly in an attempt to calm the situation down.

"Or never use it at all..." Knuckles muttered underneath his breath and rolled his eyes. He turned around and stomped off. "Now if you guys don't mind, I'm getting the hell out of-"

When Knuckles stopped suddenly, Sonic and Tails looked over to his direction and saw how he stilled.

"...Knuckles?" Tails furrowed a brow and cautiously walked next to him. He followed what he was looking at.

A grave. A very large grave.

What surprised the yellow fox even more was the name engraved onto it.

_Sonic the Hedgehog. A beloved hero we will all miss. Rest in peace._

Tails's eyes widened, a shock wave of surprise and confusion surging through his body. He looked back at Sonic, who was equally shocked when he saw the grave as well. "Y-You're... _dead?"_

Sonic frowned and walked in front of "his" grave stone but stopped when he noticed there were others next to it. His eyes caught the names and his lips thinned themselves, a small lump against his throat forming as he felt clueless. "I guess we all are..."

"Do you think it had something to do with the chaos emerald?" Tails asked and pointed at the green gem, "Do you..." He gulped and continued. "Do you think we've traveled into the future?"

"The future?" Knuckles turned to them and looked up at the sky, the orange and pink shade of clouds staring back at him. "How far into the future?"

Sonic shook his head and flipped the chaos emerald. "Beats me. But if all of us are dead, that means Eggman shouldn't be here either."

"Yeah, 'cause his grave is right there moron," Knuckles chucked in a point with his thumb.

"Next to ours?!" Sonic skidded over to Eggman's stone and couldn't help but laugh, "Oh man, so maybe he did join the team!"

"It looks like you had a family too, Sonic." Tails said, humming when he knelt down to the smaller stones next to the blue hedgehog's.

The speedster's laughter died down as his eyes bulged out of his eyelids. "...R-Repeat that again, buddy?"

A smirk came across Tails's face. "Well, what do you know. Looks like you and Amy _did_ happen to end up together."

A blush filtered Sonic's cheeks and peered down at the stones. _Amy Rose the Hedgehog. Dash the Hedgehog. Emerald the Hedgehog. Gust the Hedgehog._

"Oh, that's rich!" Knuckles howled a laugh and swung his arm around the hedgehog's shoulder. "And to think you'd never admit your feelings to her, huh? Oh, this is great!"

While Knuckles continued to tease Sonic, who retaliated back with the subject of Rouge, Tails trailed his eyes along the rest of the grave stones. Knuckles's one was there... right next to Rouge's... with their kids below. He had to fight off his laughter before shaking his head and seeing his own. Tails never thought he would have actually ended up with someone... but it seemed like he did. He didn't know who they were by reading the name, but he wanted it to remain a mystery until the time comes.

It was strange. The Chaotix's stones were here. Cream and her mom's too. Silver and Blaze's.

There was just one he didn't see at all...

"Hey guys." Tails cut off their arguing and stood up. "Shadow's stone isn't here."

"It's not?" Sonic pulled away from Knuckles's grip and scanned all of the graves. "You're right, it isn't. Huh..."

Knuckles sat back and crossed his arms. "Isn't he immortal or something?"

Tails blinked and quickly nodded. "Oh yeah, you're right! That must mean he's still around!"

"Yeah, but where?" Sonic questioned looking around. "He could be anywhere."

"I'm right here."

The trio jumped and snapped their heads back towards a tree, where Shadow was standing. He was leaned against the stump, his arms crossed in his usual manner as he looked at them. There wasn't a hint of curiosity covering his gaze. It was almost as if he knew one day, a screw up would happen from the past.

"You don't look a day old!" Sonic joked lightening up the mood. "How did you find us anyway?"

Shadow walked towards them and got out his own green chaos emerald. "It was acting a little strange. The Master Emerald sensed something was wrong as well."

"The Master Emerald?!" Knuckles shot up onto his feet. "Where is it?! Is it okay?!"

"Knuckles..." Tails shook his head with a sigh and paid his attention to the black hedgehog. "I think there was a mishap when Sonic tried inducing chaos control, like an anomaly. I would look into it some more, but you seem to have an idea as to what happened."

Shadow nodded and stuffed his emerald away. "Usually when an inexperienced user tries to induce chaos control with one emerald, there's a fifty-fifty chance that they might produce a time paradox." He said before glancing at Sonic. "And I don't think I should be questioning the person who brought you three, should I?"

Sonic groaned. "Can we stop playing 'Let's blame Sonic for everything' game today? You guys are so unforgiving!"

"Shut up!" Knuckles huffed and glared at him. "You brought us hundreds of years into the damn future so we _are_ blaming you!" He looked back at Shadow again and repeated his last question. "Where's the Master Emerald? It's still in Angel Island, right? Nothing's happened to it, RIGHT?"

"Gosh, he's more romantic with that thing than he is with Rouge..." Sonic whispered beside Tails.

"I HEARD THAT!"

Shadow had been calm with his answer, not at all finding the troublesome something new. In fact, he could already feel a smile threatening his lips but pushed it down. "Don't worry, it's being looked after."

His answer obviously surprised the echidna causing another flurry of questions being asked. "It is? "Are you looking after it? All by yourself? Aren't you still with GUN? If they even still exist here..."

"Yes, I'm still with GUN. And no, I haven't been looking after it by myself but I do live in Angel Island so I keep an eye on it when I'm able to."

Sonic and Tails blinked at him. Knuckles almost _choked. _"You live _where now?! _With who?!"

Unfazed by his reaction, Shadow just nodded mutely and gestured the three to follow him without a word. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles shared a look with each other before complying.

They arrived at Angel Island without failure. Knuckles looked around. It looked more or less the same despite being so many years into the future. The chao were playing and the altar was still there, the giant green emerald displaying its own beauty.

"Wow you actually have a house built here, Shadow?" Tails asked as they were walking towards a small house that was built beside one of the chao ponds. "I didn't see that coming."

"Looks nice." Sonic said with a grin when Shadow was unlocking the front door.

"Thanks."

"What made you want to live here though?"

"She wanted to live here instead of the city," Shadow replied.

The trio stopped in their tracks completely. Mouths open, eyes widened, bodies stilled_. "She?!"_

Shadow turned back to them and couldn't help but showcase his bemusement. This was too fun. "Yes, my wife."

_"Your WIFE?!"_

He rolled his eyes, pushing the door open as he went inside. The team follow asuit after sharing unsure gazes with one another. Shadow gestured them over to the living room where they sat down, the three of them looking around the house.

"Daddy, you're home!"

"Did I just hear that right?" Sonic asked and looked at Tails and Knuckles who felt helpless. "You guys heard that, right? Or am I officially going insane?"

Before anything else could be said, quick footsteps hurried down the staircase and a small black red streaked hedgehog came into frame. She jumped into Shadow's arms as she hugged him. When she saw that he had company, she blinked at them and jumped down. "Who are they, daddy?" she asked however recognition filled her eyes.

"Just some old friends, Crystal." Shadow said and knelt down to her height. "Do you want to go say hi?"

She looked shy but nodded anyway, making her way to greet Tails first. "Hello."

Tails was the most composed out of the three of them as he smiled and shook Crystal's hand. "Hi Crystal, my name is Tails. It's nice to meet you!"

"I already know who you are, Mister Tails!" She laughed and greeted Sonic. "And you're Mister Sonic! You always used to race daddy, right?"

Sonic stared at her before quickly getting out from his state of complete shock. He naturally taped a grin on his mouth and shook her hand too. "I am! Glad to know my infamous name is still going around!"

Crystal smiled and went over to Knuckles as she instantly beamed. "And you're Uncle Knuckles!"

Silence.

_What?_

Did she just say-?

"Uncle Knuckles?!" Sonic and Tails repeated, their confusion skyrocketing.

Knuckles didn't say anything. That was because he looked like he _couldn't_ say anything. Just hearing about Shadow taking care of Angel Island now, knowing that he was living here with a family and now having a little kid calling him Uncle Knuckles?

_...What in the Master Emerald was going on?_

"Crystal?" Another voice was heard and all of them paid their attention towards a new guest... who was a male black red streaked echidna.

"Ark!" Crystal said with joy and motioned him towards the three. "Look, Mister Sonic and Mister Tails are here! And Uncle Knuckles too!"

Ark rubbed his azure eyes. The small boy looked like he was sleeping and came downstairs to see what the commotion was all about. When he finally blinked and understood what was going on, he smiled excitedly and rushed towards them. "You three are the guys that fought that Eggman guy with daddy!"

Despite recovering from his initial surprise, Sonic smirked at Shadow. "Telling your kids stories about us, huh?"

Shadow shrugged as he sat down on the other couch. "They wanted to know. Sometimes it helps them sleep."

Knuckles looked at Crystal and Ark back and forth, but he was more focused on the little echidna more than anything. Nonetheless despite feeling _a little _awkward, he greeted them with a smile and ruffled their heads. "So you're my niece and nephew? You guys look just like your dad."

"But we have mommy's eyes though!" Crystal pointed out. "And we're not as grumpy as daddy is sometimes."

"Crystal..." Shadow grunted while they all laughed.

Knuckles then looked at Ark again as if he were trying to figure something out.

"Uncle Knuckles?" Ark peered with his innocent gaze at him. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong." Knuckles stated with a smile but his tone said otherwise. Slowly but surely, he threw a gaze over at Shadow. "Shadow... you do realize that I am- _was_ the last echidna to exist, right?"

"I'm aware, yes."

Uncertainty only struck Knuckles even more at the hedgehog's lackluster answer. "Then _how_ is your son an echidna? How were you able to-"

"Knuckles," Tails said sheepishly, "Look to your left."

Knuckles looked from Shadow to a familiar orange figure standing beside the doorway. Everything dropped into the pits of his stomach and his eyes widened, widened to the point where it felt like they were going to tear apart from his lids any second.

Tikal... Tikal... _It was Tikal..._

"Knuckles?" Tikal blinked and then smiled warmly. "Knuckles, is that really you?"

He felt his head spinning, his mouth going dry. Knuckles connected his gazes with Sonic and Tails, who were just as surprised when realising what was going on. He then looked at Shadow who only bored his gaze onto the situation. He looked back down at Crystal and Ark, the two staring at him with curiosity... and concern. He stared at Tikal again, a feeling of nostalgia, worry and hope filling his stomach.

The dots were connected.

And then Knuckles fainted.

* * *

"Do you think Uncle Knuckles will be okay?" Ark asked his mother.

"He'll be fine, sweetie." Tikal said with a comforting smile as she placed a cloth against Knuckles's forehead.

"I hope he will be." Crystal said whilst she and Ark stared down at his sleeping figure.

Meanwhile Sonic, Tails and Shadow were seated at the dining table nearby with mugs of coffee in front of them. After tending Knuckles and telling Crystal and Ark to look after him, Tikal sat next to Shadow opposite the two.

"Tikal, it's been a while." Sonic greeted with a smile. "If you're here now, what happened to Chaos?"

"After sealing him, I was granted with a wish by the Master Emerald to live again." Tikal smiled sadly however. "I didn't think you guys would already be... gone. When I was wandering around Angel Island, I met Shadow because he sensed something happening to the Master Emerald. He told me everything that happened."

Sonic nodded and moved his gaze to Shadow. "So I'm guessing things between you two set off from there?"

Shadow huffed, looking away and sipped on his coffee as Tikal stifled out a laugh. "It took a while but yes, you're guessing right." She glanced at Tails with a welcoming look. "You must be Tails."

"Hi." Tails said shyly. "I've heard a lot about you from Sonic and Knuckles. It's nice to finally meet you."

"You too!" Tikal smiled at him and stared over to where Knuckles was. "I apologize for Knuckles. I didn't think he'd react like that."

"Ah, don't worry about him." Sonic said and waved his hand. "He's been cranky all day. But I gotta say, I'm surprised too." He wiggled his brows. "You guys wanna spill? How'd you two get together?"

Tails sighed. "Sonic, I think Amy is starting to rub off on you somehow."

He blushed. "Tails!"

"It's okay." Tikal reassured again and glanced over to Shadow. "Do you want me to tell them or...?"

"It's fine." Shadow shook his head before answering him. "It was a one-sided attraction at first-"

Sonic rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Tch, of course. Playing hard to get, Shadow? Poor Tikal!"

The other hedgehog shot him a look of annoyance before continuing. "I admit, I wasn't interested in the beginning and just wanted to house her so I had her live with me." Shadow's eyes had softened when he glanced Tikal's way. "Something definitely happened and I was positive she put some sort of spell on me."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tikal laughed and squeezed his hand. "I'm sure _you_ were the one putting a spell on me."

"Hmph."

"You know Shadow, since you're immortal and all, I was getting a little worried you'd be feeling lonely when we're all gone but..." Tails shot a smile at the couple's hands. "I'm glad you found each other. U-Um... Tikal? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't look to have aged much either. Does that mean you're... immortal too?"

Tikal nodded. "After staying in the Master Emerald for so long and sealing Chaos, I guess you can say that. Chaos Energy flows through my body constantly."

"It makes sense." Tails said. "That the two of you are ageless. It means you both can be together forever, literally."

"Yes." Tikal said with another bright smile. "Shadow decided we'd move to Angel Island and get married there. Crystal and Ark came shortly after."

"Huh." Sonic let out and grinned. "Who would've thought... Shadow and Tikal. No offense, but you guys are so different from each other. It's sorta hard to believe _Shadow_ got with someone after sending him into a lot of blind dates before."

Shadow mustered a glare at the blue hedgehog. "Now I can understand how you three got here in the first place. You just don't shut up."

"Hey!" Sonic groaned before leaning back against his seat. "_Anyway, _I'm happy for you both."

"Thank you, Sonic." Tikal said. "I'm sure the three of you saw... your grave stones. I share the same feeling of the beautiful families you'll be producing soon."

Sonic and Tails both blushed scratching their heads, both saying a timid, "Th-Thanks."

"Mommy, daddy! Uncle Knuckles is awake!" Crystal called from the living room.

When everyone headed into the living room, they saw Knuckles having a conversation with the children.

"Uncle Knuckles, we're becoming the next guardians for the Master Emerald soon!" Ark said brightly.

"Really now?" Knuckles looked exhausted but he still managed to smile.

"Yeah!" Crystal said and threw her fist into the air. "We've been practicing with mommy and we won't ever let anyone harm it!"

Knuckles chuckled and ruffled their heads again. "Then it looks like I won't have to worry!" He looked up to see everyone. "Hey guys."

"Hi Knuckles." Tikal sat next to him on the couch. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good." He answered and rubbed his forehead. "How long was I out for?"

"Not too long." She shook her head. "I can't blame you for being so surprised. I hope you're not angry."

"I'm not angry." Knuckles said with a shake of his head. "Surprised, yes. But not angry. I forgot about you sealing Chaos away but I didn't think you were able to come back again." He smiled when Crystal and Ark climbed up to sit on his lap. "I can only thank you and Shadow for carrying on our legacy for the Master Emerald."

Tikal relaxed herself and beamed. "Thank you."

Knuckles glanced at Shadow. "I guess you two seem perfect for each other. That's if Shadow isn't such an a-hole all the time."

"Tch. As a matter of fact, I never am." Shadow countered back at him. "Not around my family at least."

"Aww." Sonic teased. "So you grow into a big ol' softie in front of your wife and kids. How cuuute."

"Be quiet."

"Anyway." Tails chimed in before another argument could start. "We really need to get going. Us being here is probably messing things up in the future already."

"Yeah, you're right." Sonic nodded and looked ahead towards Tikal. "It was really nice seeing you again, Tikal!" He and Tails knelt down to shake Crystal and Ark's hands. "You guys as well! Keep going at it and you'll be just as strong as your mom and dad!"

"Okay!" Crystal and Ark cheered.

Knuckles stood up, giving both the children a hug before Tikal did the same to him. "Thanks, Tikal."

"It's no problem, Knuckles." Tikal said as she pulled away with a kind smile. "I hope you'll manage okay when you're back home."

"I will don't worry." He smiled back at her before nodding over to Shadow. "You take good care of them, Shadow. And yourself."

A hidden smile went up onto the black hedgehog's lips. "You don't have to tell me twice."

"Okay, let's go!" Sonic whipped out the chaos emerald.

_"Oh no!" _Tails snatched it away from his best friend's hand. "You're not doing it this time! For all we know, we might end up in space!" The fox tossed it over to Shadow. "You mind doing the honours?"

Shadow caught the emerald. "Sure."

"Have you lost faith in me too, Tails?!" Sonic whined.

"He made the best decision." Knuckles said and stood next to them. "Stop sulking about it!"

"Fine, whatever!"

As Shadow performed Chaos Control, the portal to back home appeared.

"There," he said and threw the emerald back to Sonic. "It won't hold up for very long. I trust you guys not to say anything that has happened when you're back home."

"You can count on us!" Tails said with a thumbs up.

As Sonic and Tails said their farewells and jumped inside, Knuckles stayed behind for a bit. "It's nice to know we'll be having more echidnas alive in the future." He said causing Tikal to blush and a lighter one dusting Shadow's cheeks. "You guys take care."

Shadow and Tikal smiled, nodding at him before Knuckles knelt down to give one last hug to Crystal and Ark. "You two as well."

"We promise!" Ark said with determination as Crystal cheered a, "Yeah!"

Grinning at them one last time, Knuckles leaped into the portal as it closed behind him.

* * *

"That was... something." Tikal said as she and Shadow put Crystal and Ark to bed.

"Yeah." Shadow chuckled and left the door ajar when they walked out of the bedroom. "I noticed how happy you were when you saw Knuckles. It must bring back a lot of memories."

"It did." She breathed out and smiled. "It was nice seeing Sonic again. Tails was so sweet too."

Shadow took her hand, kissing it before he smirked. "You seemed shy when talking about our relationship to them. I hope I don't embarass you."

"I-I should be saying the same to you!" Tikal stammered as she blushed. "The Ultimate Lifeform being with me... it's so much to ask for already."

"I'm with a practical God here." He said and caressed her cheek. "I expected Knuckles to kick my ass once he realized we were together. I'm surprised how calm he was despite his reaction."

She giggled. "I suppose you're right. I'm just glad that he's happy and okay." Tikal pressed her lips together. "When they said that they were happy about you not being alone anymore... I'm happy too Shadow. I'm happy that I've given you a reason not to be."

Shadow looked deeply into her eyes, his own softening. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She buried her head against the soft white patches of his chest, feeling his heart beating steadily. "You're very much welcome..."

"Hm."

"You look tired." Tikal gently pulled his cheeks into her palms. "How about we take a shower together and go to bed?"

Shadow picked her up into his arms, leaving a soft kiss on her lips as he smiled. "I like that idea."

...

_author's note__ : this one's for all the people in our shadikal discord server! hope you liked it! and thank you to lima (kokolockhart) for letting me use her fankids! this one is especially for you bby! _


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